These causes include road erosion, house

construction, steep slope cultivation, tourism
development, and animal trampling. These activities
destroy surface vegetation and increase the potential
for soil loss through exposed swallow holes. 
What is soil?
 - is a mixture of organic
matter, minerals, gases, liquids,
and organisms that together
support life.
 Soil ─ the thin outer skin of the Earth’s
land ─ is a critical and fragile natural
resource. Soil is the basis for almost all
global agriculture and the medium in
which most terrestrial biological activity
occurs. 
Farming is how humans have received their
food for over 10,000 years. Farmers often add
nutrients to their soils in the form or organic or
artificial fertilizers to make crops grow better.
Over time, farming practices can lead to the
loss of soil
Construction activities, such as grading and
filling, reduce soil quality on construction sites.
Urban development activities can cause rapid
soil degradation and sedimentation
The main environmental problem associated with the
disposal sites is the potential risk posed to the soil.
Since the waste was disposed directly onto surface
of soil, a number of contaminants including heavy
metals readily penetrate and eventually they
contaminate the soil and affect vegetation abundance
of the area.
Ways of conserving the quality and
quantity of the soil
Buffer Strips
A buffer strip is an area of land maintained in
permanent vegetation that helps to control air
quality soil quality, and water quality, along with
other environmental problems, dealing primarily on
land that is used in agriculture. Buffer strips
trap sediment, and
enhance filtration of nutrients and pesticides by
slowing down surface runoff that could enter the
local surface waters.